The desirability of a user being releasably attached to an item of sports equipment has been recognised for some time as evidenced by Australian Patent Specification No. 33890/84 by Hamilton. The Hamilton specification describes apparatus for use with a surfboard, including complementary layers of interlocking hook and loop fasteners of the type known as "VELCRO" attached to the board rider's boots and the surfboard respectively. However, it appears that such apparatus would not easily allow correct alignment of the board rider's boots with the board at a predetermined desirable position. Furthermore, the apparatus does not provide the rider with the opportunity to pivot his feet whilst riding the board and additionally the breakaway force required to be applied by the rider to release himself from the board cannot be varied.
The use of binding apparatus with snow boards and snow skis is well known but such apparatus is not suitable for use with other items of sports equipment particularly skateboards as the rider cannot quickly and easily engage and disengage his boots with or from the board such as is necessary with skateboards. Similar circumstances exist with surfboards.
It is an object of the present invention to provide binding apparatus for use with an item of sports equipment such as a skateboard or surfboard whereby the item of sports equipment may be selectively secured to and released from the persons footwear as desired,. It is another object to provide binding apparatus which allows the rider to relatively easily secure his footwear to the item of sports equipment in a predetermined position. It is yet another object to provide binding apparatus in which the user of the sports equipment can release himself from the sports equipment upon application of a predetermined breakaway force.